How are apartments' electric bills rated? (Dallas, Carrollton: apartment complexes, lease, condo) - City-Data Forum

loves2read · 08-15-2007, 05:49 AM

My son and his fiance live in older apt complex in Carrollton in 2nd floor apt--2 bd 1 bath--not that big--they turn their a/c back when they are at work and try not to have it under 76-78...their electric bills shows that they use a lot of KW hours--like 1800 on latest bill--they are not sure how their electric bill is determined but say that at this complex they don't have choice of provider and the apt complex sets the rate (which they did not know when they signed the lease)---is that legal? Who reviews the electric rates that apartment complexes set or apartment residents have to pay?

we asked him if he was on a multiple meter where all users just split the bill--if that is the case then all his attempts to save KWH are just doing nothing if someone is a power hog and keep AC at 70--he is supposed to check w/apt complex about HOW the usage is determined...

they are supposed to move to another complex in Lewisville next mo--and when we asked if it would be better situation--he did not know anything except they could choose their electric provider--but did not know if he had single meter or what--so we said to ask...

any inside info about apartments and their electric situation would be appreciated

MaryS80 · 08-15-2007, 07:15 AM

Electricity rates are high in the Dallas area. I live in a one bedroom ground floor apartment, by bill runs anywhere from $75 to almost $200.

Being on a second floor in the summer does not help as heat rises, and if there is no third floor above them, then all the heat beating on the roof is addint too the problem.

If it's an older apartment its most likely poorly insulated. I know the windows in my place are extremely drafty.

There was a story on the news some months back about a man in an apartment and his electric bills were abnormally high. As it turned out the wiring for the exterior lighting was routed into his unit, and he was being charged for it.

loves2read · 08-15-2007, 07:34 AM

not exactly what I was hoping to get as a response--

Any apartment managers out there who know how electric rates/bills are processed in Dallas area???

USA_Mom · 08-15-2007, 07:46 AM

I know the apartments I've lived in we didn't split bills, but my girlfriend has a condo where they split the bills amongst everyone and it's done quarterly or something.

loves2read · 08-15-2007, 10:14 AM

my son said his bill showed KWH uses were like 1800---that seems really high to me--they have probably a 800 sq ft apartment--not that big---
where would an apt's meter be located? should it be visible to anyone? is it possible for someone to piggy back off my son's meter? They say they turn everything off when they leave for work and set the thermo back to 80--don't have it that much higher when they are home...

I told them to find out which meter was theirs and then turn off/pull out all electric cords--even turn off refrig for a few minutes--and see if the meter is still moving...
there is something fishy going on there--don't think it is just being an older apt---they use some electric coop out of Denton--CoServe or something--that charges .14 for kwh and then another .04 kwh surcharge for something--who knows what...that is high rate--but it is the kwh usage that seems so out of whack...

GoPadge · 08-16-2007, 07:33 AM

When I looked at their rates back in the fall, they were one of the lowest providers. Back then their rates were .04 with at .07 surcharge for a per Kwatt rate of .11, at the time TXU's price to beat was .15 and their best rate was .13 per Kwatt. A review of Co-serv's Co-serv vs the Competition page shows an average over the past 22 months of .12 per Kwatt.

loves2read · 08-16-2007, 07:40 AM

it is not so much the rate--which I think is little high for a true public utility--it is the number of KWH that is so much out of whack---

USA_Mom · 08-18-2007, 08:57 PM

I got a $1014 electric bill today in Georgia. Apparently the meters here are NOT read monthly and the only thing this place had going for it was a cheaper electric bill. There were NO late bills prior to this and ALL bills were directly debited on time, so this is not from us not paying.

I was told meters are not read regularly and so this was really for the last 3 months...in addition to the $375 or thereabouts we have paid. Works out to around $450ish a month for a SMALLER house (2000 square feet compared to 3000 we had in McKinney) and we were on vacation 1 week in June and 2 weeks in July...interesting.

So my prior complaints about Dallas having high electric bills are null and void from this moment on, I can pay LESS in a mortgage AND the same or LESS in electricity in Dallas

Electric Guy · 08-27-2007, 04:30 PM

I'm afraid apartments can decide which electric company their tenants must use. Most of them do not disclose this up front. To see if the units are submetered; 1. ask the mgr or 2. look around his building and see if there are multiple electric meters. As far as the usage goes, 1500 kwh isn't that bad in the summer for an older apartment. Our residential clients pay about 12.9/kwh, so a decent size complex should be priced in that same range if not lower. I hope this helps.
Dwight w/ US First Energy 817-881-0957